Ciela LaBran Albarn
by Ciera Hunter
Summary: Maka was dead. Shibusen is vulnerable with one of its top meister gone and Soul was in a depression, nothing could bring his meister and lover back. He didn't even had a chance to tell her his feelings. A mysterious girl almost identical to Maka then appears and she might just be the medicine needed for his ailment.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

His serrated teeth latched on to his bottom lip and bit down hard, drawing wet blood. Ha… At least it was red...

He couldn't stop the pain, it twisted his heartstrings and he felt like it would burst out of his chest any moment. Things weren't suppose to be this way, she was suppose to live a happy long life together with him, grow old and die of old age… together…

"Maka… You stubborn idiot…" he sighed out from between his clenched teeth.

Warm tears wouldn't stop welling out of the corner of his eyes. So uncool… If Maka was here, she would had hit him over the head with her Maka Chop and bring him to his senses, probably throw in one of her gentle smiles for a bonus. But she wasn't here, not anymore.

He grimaced in agony as he remembered the day he got back to Death City.

**-flashback-**

The recent mission assigned to him in Australia had been arduous and tiring, stretching the power of his new Deathscythe status to its limits. Soul was aching all over and dried blood still caked on to his favourite black leather jacket, a Christmas present from Maka. Damn, he's gonna have to get it off at some point anyways…

He grinned as his stomach growled in hunger. No worries, today was Maka's turn to cook and he sure as hell hope she wasn't planning to feed him ramen noodles. Maybe she might be cooking his favourite carbonara spaghetti as a 'welcome home' treat - with extra bacon thrown in too. Lord Death, his meister sure was a good cook. What had he ever done to deserve her as a partner?

Soul leaned back into the seat of the bus in content. She looked so cute in the apron too, all flushed from the heat of cooking, or was it him? He smirked smugly at the idea that only he could cause such a reaction from Maka. He slung his backpack over his shoulder in haste as the bus drew up to Shibusen gates. Maka had promised she would be there to meet him.

"Hey, Mak-" Soul stepped off the bus excitedly and stopped short in disappointment. The whole gang was here, but Maka was no where in sight. He couldn't catch sight of her ash blonde hair anywhere. She probably couldn't make it and sent them instead. Pity…

"Oh, hey guys," he drawled out and reached a lazy hand out to high-five Blackstar. But Blackstar stared at him weirdly and left him hanging. "O… kay…" Soul drew his hand back in confusion and slight hurt.

He suddenly noticed the melancholy atmosphere around the gang. Blackstar and Patty were quiet and subdued, Tsubaki was sniffing into a lace handkerchief, Kid avoided any eye contact and Liz just stood stiffly as if struggling to contain something in. Something was off, terribly off, with the gang.

"Guys, what's wrong?" he asked hesitantly. "Where's Maka?"

Tsubaki suddenly burst into tears at the mention of Maka's name. The gang eyed each other in discomfort.

"He's going to know sooner or later. It's better if we tell him now," Kid said quietly.

"Tell me what, Kid?!" Panic broke through Soul and he dropped his pack to the ground. In a flash, he gripped Kid's shoulders and shook him. "What is going on, Kid?! Is it Maka?! Is she hurt?! What's wrong with her?! Tell me!"

Kid raised his head silently to look at Soul in the eye, "Maka's dead." The world fell apart in Soul's mind. Maka… is… dead?

"You're bluffing," Soul said flatly.

"I'm sorry, bro. She took a hit from a witch while protecting the newbies," Blackstar tried to lay a comforting hand on Soul's shoulder but he just shook him off in a daze.

"That stubborn woman… always trying to protect others…" Soul cursed to himself, "Wasn't Stein able to save her?!"

"Soul, you have to calm down before you hurt yourself or others," Liz crouched down next to him. "Maka wouldn't had wanted you to be like this, she told us so. And she wanted us to bring you this…"

She lifted up a small box in her hands and pressed it into Soul's. "She said she made a promise to meet you out here and that she wanted to keep it."

Soul slowly lifted the lid a crack and watched the comforting blue light washed over his jacket. He lifted the whole lid off and said nothing at the blue soul floating peacefully in the box. Maka…

Something in him snapped into a million pieces - probably his heart. Tears streamed down his cheeks and dripped on to Maka's soul. He hurriedly wiped them roughly away, he didn't want Maka seeing him cry, even if it was only her soul.

"Maka…" Soul cradled the soul as close to his chest as possible. "How could you leave me like this?" The gang had backed off a couple of steps to give him space. "How could you leave so suddenly? All these years, I never even had a chance to tell you how I really felt."

He cried openly now, "I love you, Maka. I didn't want all those girls I dated back then, I only wanted you. Couldn't you tell I was only trying to make you jealous? Not that it worked, mind you." He joked humourlessly.

"God… This is so uncool…" he sniffed into his arms. "Now you're gone. I wasn't there to protect you, Maka."

"Dude, you were away on a mission. You aren't the one to blame, the witch is," Blackstar cracked his knuckles.

"Yeah, we're gonna catch that witch and kill it nice and slow," a wide sinister grin spread across Patty's face.

"We're gonna make Maka's killer pay," Liz's smile was no less insane than Patty's.

"You have to stay strong and live on, Soul. Maka would had wanted that," Kid stepped out towards him.

"We're all here for Maka," Tsubaki managed to sniffed out from behind her handkerchief.

Soul could only nod his head as the hole in his heart began forming, swallowing him whole inside out.

**-end of flashback-**

Soul's fist curled into a ball of rage, his fingernails cutting into his palm. "Don't worry, Maka," he whispered, "I'll get that witch for you."

He glanced at the clock. Better get going, he didn't want to be late for school. Maka wouldn't had wanted that…

The apartment was so empty without her. He couldn't find it in him to clear out her stuff, so he just left them there to collect dust over the years. There had been a silent agreement with Blair that she could sleep with him since then. She rarely did, choosing to stay out with her cat friends and avoid the lifeless atmosphere of the house. But when she did, she would comfort him during his restless nights of tears thinking about Maka.

Her bedroom door had been locked and the key hung round his neck on a silver chain, tucked in under his shirt next to his heart away from prying eyes. He had bought an alarm clock to substitute for when Maka used to come round to his room and Maka Chop him awake. Truth be told, he wouldn't mind a Maka Chop any time now, as long as it meant Maka would be here.

Soul locked the apartment door behind him and strolled down the street to Shibusen. The rest of the gang was already there at the junction waiting for him. They had started walking to school together since that time but he wanted to be alone for today.

"Sup guys," he mumbled out glancing at his friends. It was obvious they weren't over that incident yet. The whole school had sunk into depression, even Shinigami. They all missed her like him.

"Hey Soul," they greeted him. "You coming today? Or are you gonna go visit her?"

"I'm gonna go visit her first. Tell them I'll be there later," Soul nodded his thanks and spun on his heels, walking towards Death City's Cemetery instead.

"Wait, Soul!" Tsubaki called. Soul turned to face her in slight annoyance: she was going to make him late with his meeting with Maka. "Soul, there was something else Maka told me before she… she… you know… I forgot to tell you on that day because of all the… commotions going on."

"Yes? What is it?" he perked up at this.

"She said something about asking you to take care of someone called Ciela," Tsubaki said quietly, "I don't know anybody by that name. Do you?"

Soul shook his head in confusion too. "I don't know anybody with that name either. But thanks anyways." Tsubaki gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder before walking back to Blackstar. She was so lucky to still have her meister with her, he thought in envy.

The metal gates of the cemetery screeched as Soul pushed it open and made his way over to the monument built in Maka's remembrance. The willow trees around the monument waved their branches to the sighing wind and an owl hooted somewhere close by.

A flash of blonde between the willows.

Soul's eyes snapped open, now wide awake, "Maka?! Maka!" He ran towards where he thought he saw the flash of her ash blonde hair, stumbling over the tree roots and ignoring the scratching branches. "Maka!" he called out desperately. It couldn't be her could it?!

"Maka!" he burst into the clearing in front of the monument. It was empty.

Soul gripped his head. He should had known that it was his imagination playing tricks on him after all, a mere hallucination of his past meister. He sank against the wall of the monument, breathless and drained. Maka isn't going to come back, he thought to himself.

"She's dead, you idiot!" Soul shouted at himself, pounding his fist against marble wall.

"Maka, what are you trying to tell me? Who is Ciela?" Soul called out to the sky. "You have to tell me or I won't know what to do. Please…" he closed his eyes in defeat.

"Ahem," a voice called out from behind him.

"What do you want, Kid?" Soul asked without even opening his eyes.

"I'm sorry for cutting your time short but this is urgent," he hopped off his beelzebub and landed next to him. "My father has asked you to come to his office immediately. We might had found you a new meister, Soul." Kid's eyes gleamed hopefully at the thought of his friends living his life normally again.

"I told you I didn't want a new meister. Maka was my first and last," Soul growled out threateningly.

"Either way, I really think you should go. You might regret not going," Kid pulled him up on to his beelzebub next to him, not put off with his attitude.

"Ugh, fine. But I'm coming back straight after, okay?" Soul gave in and let himself be flown to Shibusen.

"Anything is fine as long as you go to the Death room first. The gang's already there outside waiting," Kid called behind his shoulder as he steered his skateboard over the building rooftops skilfully.

Soul wondered what could had made his friends so stressed out.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

They were all fidgeting outside the Death room, waiting to be summoned in, growing uncomfortable by the second, glancing at each other to see who would cave in first. Of course, it had to be the one and only Blackstar.

"Argh! They shouldn't make their God wait like this! What the hell is going on in there anyways?! Let's just barge in, Tsubaki!" Blackstar bounced up happily and headed for the door.

"Blackstar, wait! We can't! It's rude!" Tsubaki desperately called out to him.

"Ha! They'll be glad that I blessed them with my godly presence!"

"Blackstar, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Kid's quiet voice cut across the hallways and everyone looked to him with eyebrows raised. "Even if Father tends to usually keep things away from me, he's never been so serious before like now. I would suspect that whatever he's going to tell us next would be very important. Barging in might even result in permanent expulsion from Shibusen." Silence followed his words and even Blackstar simmered down.

"So all we can do is wait?" Soul annoyingly sighed, "So uncool Kid, I only came because you said it was urgent stuff."

"Oh trust me Soul, you bet it is." Minutes passed in awkward silence with the odd comment from Blackstar.

The door to the Death room finally cracked open a slit and Spirit slipped out, looking towards the teenagers grimly. "Come in." He disappeared silently back behind the door. The gang trailed after the red-headed Deathscythe curiously, anyone could see the tension in those taut trembling hunched shoulders of his.

Soul wasn't really looking anywhere, his scarlet eyes wandering around his surroundings as they reached Lord Death. But his eyes widened at the ash blonde figure beside the headmaster. The girl was facing away from the gang, but the colour of her hair, the way she held herself upright, and of course the zero sex appeal around her… Soul held in his breath when he caught his friends also staring at the stranger.

"M… Maka-chan?" Tsubaki broke the ice and the girl turned around.

Everyone gasped when they saw her face. She could had been Maka if it weren't for a few different features from their dead friend. Her eyes were the exact green as Maka's save for the ring of flaring purple around the pupil, her hair was let down with a parting on the right and the curtain of ash blonde concealing her left eye. The rest of her hair was tied in two low ponytails. She was just as flat as Maka, no doubt about that, and she smiled the same sweet smile at them. "Sorry? Were you talking to me? I'm not called Maka," she said in _her _gentle voice. "I think you've mistaken me for someone else."

"Children, I would like you to meet Soul's newest meister-" Lord Death began.

"What!" Soul yell indignantly.

"-who goes by the name of 'C' LaBran, say hello to her everyone," he continued while pointedly ignoring the fuming albino standing before him.

"Hey guys," C waved at them tentatively. "Hey, C," they chorused back at her emptily saved for Soul and Kid, who was glaring white hot daggers at his father.

"No, no, _no_! I made it very clear, Maka is my first and last proper meister!" Soul growled out menacingly.

"Father, how could you let someone of her kind even enter the school grounds! Much less the Death room itself! How could-" Kid was cut off.

"I was getting to that before you interrupted me, Kid," Lord Death said in his cheery voice, seemingly unfazed by his son. "It is very rare for someone with C's 'ethnic background' to enter Shibusen's Death room as she is a-"

"I'm a witch. Well, half witch… -ish… I don't really understand it myself," C startled everyone. She didn't even spared the gang a glanced as their weapons transformed into their meister's hands on instinct and Soul transformed his arm into his scythe. "Yay everyone, let's kill the witch now, shall we?" she said bitterly in sarcasm. "It's always like that."

"Weapons, transform back right this instant. C means no harm to us whatsoever," Stein's lazy voice drawled out from the side, they didn't even knew he was there the whole time.

"But-"

"Now, Soul," Stein's gazed hardened behind his glasses and he reached up his head to play around with the screw in his head. They gulped and grudgingly transformed back. "Good, now let me explain. She's a really interesting specimen actually, pity that I'm not allowed to dissect her…" They deadpanned him.

"C has Mabaa's ancestry blood flowing through her. This blood flowing through her family line has been there for so long that it should had diluted enough to be non-existent, but for some reason it has instead chose to manifest in her. My theory shows that the witch blood will grow stronger over time or experience. She's only a half witch now, but that may change."

"For now, I'm sort of like half Deathscythe, half meister, and half witch," C told them.

"Don't be stupid, you can't be one and a half person," Blackstar snorted in disgust.

"Actually, she can," Stein smiled maniacally, "That's why she's so interesting. Her witch counterpart is able to live in harmony to her original soul, living as one. If she becomes a full witch, she would still be half Deathscythe and half meister. The witch in her will not consume her."

"Hence, no sway of magic. That's why I'm here right now and not blowing Death City apart. So you can stop staring at me like that before I blast you into tomorrow," C narrowed her eyes at Soul.

"But she's part of Mabaa's line and she's the most powerful witch. She could turn against us at any time and become a dangerous enemy," Kid deadpanned.

"Dude, do I look like I'm gonna join the witches? Not all of them are bad, but one of them killed someone very close to me and another one killed my mother," C stated quietly out, her voice barely a whisper.

"… I'm sorry, we lost a close friend of ours to a witch too," Tsubaki walked towards C timidly and pulled the girl into a comforting hug, catching everyone by surprise. C smiled through unshed tears and embraced Tsubaki back.

"Thanks, no one has ever said that or hugged me before," C sheepishly twirled a lock of her hair after shyly pulling away from her. She looked towards the rest of the gang.

"Well, if Tsubaki likes her then I'm okay with the half witch too," Blackstar sighed and reached out a fist towards C. "The name's Blackstar, the man who will surpass God! That was Tsubaki just now who's my weapon! She's awesome, Tsubaki is a multi-weapon but my favourite mode is the Enchanted Sword and the chain scythe. I'll show you sometime eh? As long as you treat your god well." C beamed up at him and bumped her fist with his.

"Hey, I'm Liz and that's Patty," Liz dragged Patty along to C who grinned a devilish smile and whistled out a complicated tune, shocking the sisters and confusing the rest.

"It's good to finally meet you in person," C teased, "You were very famous, there wasn't anyone who didn't know the Thompson sisters."

Patty tackled C down to the ground in a frenzy, "Yay! Cat is here! Hip hip hooray!" Liz yanked her younger sister off and danced around, "Holy cow, it's you Cat, it's you!"

"Hey, hey! Your God demands an explanation right this instant!" Blackstar hollered out, desperate to get the spotlight back on to him - or some of it at least.

"She was pal with us on the streets of Brooklyn, helping us out and all. We communicated through bird whistles but we never met personally like this. She got herself nicknamed 'Cat' because it was rumoured a witch cat took her in under her wing. This girl's shot is even better than mine," Liz grinned proudly at C, "Still keep the gun I sent you?"

"Yep, I have it somewhere safe right now," C nodded and turned expectantly to Kid to introduce himself. He hesitantly stepped forward and shook hands with her but withdrew quickly and wiping his hands on the thigh of his pants. C tried to hide the hurt she felt at the obvious gesture.

"Sorry, I still think Father is wrong to let you be here," Kid said coldly. Soul nodded his head in approval and clasped his friend on the shoulder in show of support, ignoring C completely.

"Kid, you have to understand that she's the only one who's compatible with Soul. Are you hearing this, Soul? C has the same Grigori soul as… her. She doesn't have to be your proper meister, just think of her as a substitute if you want. But Shibusen is very vulnerable right now, not just in Death City but also all around the globe. Having a meisterless Deathscythe is not something we would appreciate, especially now," Spirit surprised everyone with his speech. Everyone knew that Maka's death had a major effect on him, but seeing him so serious and melancholy in comparison to the past pervert redhead from before was quite saddening.

"Spirit is very correct. Shibusen is in danger from any possible attacks," Lord Death nodded his head.

"Fine, I'll do it for Shibusen. Happy now?" Soul snapped out in frustration. His eyes then caught C's in a heated glare and he leaned down towards her to whisper loudly, "But just so you know, you'll never be a proper meister to me, understood? You're nothing more than a substitute, witch girl."

"And you're nothing more than a jerk of a dumbass idiot," she spat out, "I can't believe I watched over and protected you for all these years. You're not worth my effort at all."

"What do you mean by that?"

"None of your business."

"C? Do you know where you're going to stay for the moment? If you don't would you like to stay with me and Blackstar? I'm sure we can make room for you," Tsubaki offered sweetly.

"No way! Cat is staying with us, right sissy?" Patty highfived her sister.

"Patty, she is not staying with us," Kid stated in a tone of authority and Patty pouted in response. "Besides Soul, don't weapons and misters stay together?"

"No way in hell is she crashing with me," Soul glowered at C in repulse.

"Hey, it's okay Patty. I'll just stay with Tsubaki then. Thanks," C nodded appreciatively at her new friend. "I'll cook something good for you, Blackstar."

"Yahoo! We can have a cooking competition between you and Tsubaki! Then I'll have double the amount of food for dinner! Yahoo!" Blackstar gripped his new roommate in a headlock and dragged her away with Tsubaki chasing after them in worry.

"What kind of spell did she cast on Blackstar? We were suppose to hang out and play basketball too," Soul drawled out angrily scuffing his shoes against the floor. Kid shrugged.

"C'mon, you have to give Cat a chance! She's actually really nice, give or take some of the rumours I've heard about her," Liz mumbles out.

"Liz, we're talking about someone from the streets here. Who knows what she might have done in her days of heist?" Kid said and immediately regretted it when her eyes darkened dangerously.

"But Kid, weren't we also street wanderers until you found us?" Patty asked innocently, not knowing the thin ice she was treading on at that moment.

"C'mon, Patty. We're going to catch up with Cat, fellow street wanderers stick together," Liz shot Kid a glare, the last part clearly meant for him to hear. They left the room with Kid tagging along regrettably.

Soul shook his head in disgust, "See what happens when you bring a witch into Shibusen?" He said to Lord Death and walked out on him without waiting for a reply.

"Just give her a chance, Soul, just give her a chance…"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

C teetered forward with the sheer weight of the scythe in her hands. She knew that Soul was making himself heavier on purpose, he wasn't going to make anything easy for her. She hefted him into a more balanced position in her hands and spread her feet a little wider, her muscles straining to keep Soul held high. Stein watched unamused in the corner, he wasn't pleased with the pair's progress in the last few days.

"Soul, you're not exactly making things easier here. Stein's gonna kill us if you don't stop acting so immature," she hissed at her weapon.

"I have exactly no idea what you're talking about," he replied in a monotone.

_Of course you don't_, she thought angrily, _You know what? I've had enough of this._

"Argh!" she yelled as she threw Soul towards the wall, watching in satisfaction when he hit the wall hard with a spin. He immediately transformed back into his human form, crimson eyes ablaze.

"What the fuck!" he stretched and cracked his back to relieve some pain. His arm transformed back into a scythe, "You are so dead when I'm done with you!"

"Cool guys aren't suppose to hit girls," C leaned casually against the wall whilst inspecting her fingernails. "Besides, I wouldn't want you to get hurt in the process." She slipped out the gun given to her by Liz out from the back of her waistband - the somewhere safe she mentioned before - and aimed it for his heart.

"You're stupid if you think that bullets will hurt me. I'm a weapon remember? You won't even land a scratch on me," he advanced towards her.

"And I'm a half witch. These aren't normal bullets," she popped out the magazine and shook out a few tiny glowing purple bullets into her palm, "These are solidified soul wavelengths, my soul wavelength. Stein helped me make these on my first day in case something like this came up." She gave an appreciated nod of thanks towards the professor.

"Since when did you switched sides?" Soul faced the professor.

"Since you started acting immature. Grow up, Soul, you haven't made any progress since last week. Now I want you at least be able to soul resonate with C before the end of this session," the displeased frown grew to the corners of his mouth. "Or else I'll have to dissect you for spare body parts."

C sighed, the nightmares that had tortured her recently hadn't eased up on her sleep. The memories kept coming back at her whenever she tried to close her eyes and it had left her on the brink on fainting every single day. She could feel her resolve starting to crumble into pieces as Soul and Stein exchanged insults and colourful words before the defeated Soul walked over to her and roughly pulled her on to her feet.

"You want to start soul resonance now or what?" C asked him wearily and he grunted. _Guess that's a yes then_, she thought.

Soul transformed into her hands and she spun the scythe in the air in relief when he decided to discontinue his childish antics. The scythe felt nothing like before. It was so light, smooth, and warm…C held the scythe adjacent to her body and closed her eyes, entering the ethereal plane inside of her and Soul.

She started venturing towards the blue orb closest to her that was Soul's soul. There was a spark of ignition when she neared him, seeking permission to get closer. Soul's soul closed the distance between them and C felt electricity rush through her veins as his soul mingled with her's as best as it could.

"SOUL RESONANCE!" they shouted out and C felt the heat in her blood intensified. She opened her glowing eyes and saw the blade of the scythe growing out of the corner of her eyes. The blade grew into a huge crescent triangle around her body and glowed brighter than any weapon she ever saw.

"Demon Hunter!" she screamed as Soul's power up shape finalised and hardened, glinting electrifying shades of blue. C brought the head of the scythe lower and swung Soul in an upward curve, shooting her wavelength out through him, watching the her magnified purple energy cut a trench into the gym's floor and blast the kishin dummy target ahead of her into ashes - as well as several others beside it.

The moment was short-lived as exhaustion took over her. She panted and dug the end of the scythe into the ground to support her upright. "What- *huffhuff* -was that?" C asked bewildered. That feeling of power had never felt so good before. She almost wished she could do it again.

"I think that would be the third evolution of the Demon scythe," Stein wiped his glasses with the corner of his stitched lab coat before putting them on. "Quite impressive for your first soul resonance."

"Ugh," C gave up and flopped on to the ground in exhaustion, Soul transforming to lie next to her equally tired. "So tiring…"

"Yes, you'll have to train even harder in order to use that power up without falling over in exhaustion," Stein drawled out, "Get some rest today, we'll continue tomorrow." He walked out of the gym.

C could barely keep her eyes open. She could feel sleep creeping up on her and she gave in to the blissful rest, finally able to gain a dreamless sleep. She rolled over and curled up on her side, disregarding the cold gym floor under her. _Just a little nap here to gain some energy, then I'll go home_, she smiled at her plan.

Soul sat up and looked at the girl curled up beside him in annoyance. He gave her a prod in the side, "Hey, you can't be thinking of sleeping here. You'll get a crick in your back when you wake up." She just shifted away out of the reach of his prodding fingers.

"Go home, I'll be fine here," she yawned out tiredly. Soul scooted closer to her side and resumed to poking her side but the steady rise and fall of her chest told him that she was already asleep. He sighed, might as well carry her to Tsubaki's place.

He bent down and scooped the sleeping girl into his arms bridal style and kicked the gym door open. She latched on to his shirt and snuggled closer to him, drawing a blush to his cheeks and a pang in his heart. She was so similar to Maka, he thought. C stayed still and silent all the way out of Shibusen, but she started to toss and turn.

"Dammit C, go back to sleep," Soul huffed when she nearly fell out of his arms. He looked down on her peaceful sleeping face. She didn't looked so witchy when she was asleep, nothing abnormal about her like her purple and green eyes. In fact, it wasn't as bad as he imagined. He glanced guiltily at the leather gloves on her hands he had forced her to wear because he hadn't wanted her to touch him whilst training.

At that moment, C chose to unconsciously smash her forehead against his chin. Soul reeled back from shock from the raging heat he felt from her burning skin. Curse, was she sick? He started picking up his pace, almost running when he reached the apartment Tsubaki and Blackstar shared.

"Tsubaki! Open up! There's something wrong with C!" Soul shouted as he skidded to a stop outside their door.

The door opened and Tsubaki's eyes widened when she saw Soul. But her eyes dropped to the tossing figure in his arms and she quickly ushered them in. "Hurry, her bed is that way," she pointed down the corridor at a certain door.

Soul laid the now muttering C on her bed, stepping aside to allow Tsubaki to press a wet cloth against her forehead. The Shadow weapon seemed so sure of what she was doing.

"Does Blackstar know about this? Has this happened before?" Soul asked suspicious.

Tsubaki nodded her head uncertainly, "Yes, almost every night. I don't think she even knows that I've been to see her during her fits." She casted the girl a worried glance. "In a second she's going to start seeing things again."

"Seeing things?" Soul raised an eyebrow.

As if to answer his question, C's eyes suddenly snapped open and stared at him unseeingly. "Um, C?"

Tsubaki shook her head, "She's still unconscious, but you can try to talk to her. It's sort of like when I was inside the Enchanted Sword with Masumune."

"She's coming to Shibusen… She's finally coming… " C intoned still looking through Soul and he couldn't tear his eyes away from the purple and green orbs. "I have to protect him…"

"C? Who's coming to Shibusen?" Tsubaki reached over to grasp C's limp hand. "Who do you have to protect?"

C's lifeless eyes broke its spell on Soul and flickered to Tsubaki's, "The witch who killed my mother and Maka… She's coming to finish what she left off, she's coming for Soul… I have to protect him like before… She's killed so many of my friends…"

"What do you mean protect me like before?" Soul demanded and the eyes flashed back to his.

"I've protected you all these years. I will protect you again. She will not harm you…." Her head relaxed back into the pillow as her eyes regained their vibrant colours again. She blinked once, twice, three times.

"Tsubaki? Soul? What are you doing here? How did I get here?" she propped herself on to her elbows.

"Hey C, welcome back!" Tsubaki's voice was overboard with forced cheerfulness. "How are you feeling?"

"Ugh, don't remind me. My head feels like splitting in two," C joked while massaging a temple. Her face turned to horror, "Oh no, please don't tell me that you guys were here while I slept the whole time. What did you see?"

"It's okay, C, Blackstar and I already knew since you moved in with us. Soul just found out today though," Tsubaki looked at him nervously.

"Take me now Lord Death," C burrowed her face into her hands, "I bet you're gonna be finding yourself a new substitute meister now, eh?"

The mattress beside her sank as Soul sat down beside her, taking her by surprise. He smiled at her when she peeked out from behind her fingers. "What? You want me to give up a fortunetelling meister? Not a chance. Besides, it wouldn't be cool to kick a girl out like that, and I don't do uncool things."

"You hate me for what I am," she deadpanned him.

"Correction: I used to hate you for what you are. Key words being 'used to'," Soul drawled out uncomfortably. "Look, I'm sorry. Give me a chance okay? I wasn't thinking clearly then."

"Yeah sure, thanks Soul," C smiled tentatively. "You wanna hang out for a game of basketball later? I heard from Blackstar that you like playing that sport. He claims that he's better than you though."

"What?! That asshole, he's dead as soon as I see him. You know how to play though, right?" Soul crossed his fingers that she would. He couldn't be bothered to teach another girl how to play again, and if she turned out as bad as Maka was… His heart gave a pang again.

"I can always teach her if she doesn't," Tsubaki piped up, reminding them of her presence, "The girls are gonna be there too later on today. We can all play together."

"Thanks Tsubaki," C flashed her friend a winning smile.

-time skip-

"Take a shot, C!" Liz yelled.

C released the basketball with a flick of her fingers and pumped the air in triumph when it sailed through the hoop.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, I never had a chance to say hi to you all (always forget to post author's note). So just wanna say to enjoy the story and to review and favourite it! I also need ideas on how to continue the story onwards, any ideas guys? I also drew the story cover on computer, first time drawing anime and I hope it's good enough :3 **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 4

Soul groaned from the sofa of Kid's living room as he watched uninterested at Kid trying to pry something off C's arm. He waved a pair of scissors threateningly in the air at the same time, no doubt trying to fix C's asymmetrical hair. The hair ties holding her hair in their ponytails were sliding downwards and it was only a matter of time that they sprang free and release the curtain of ash blonde.

Kid leaped for her legs and grabbed on to one of her ankles. C only kicked him with her free leg and twisted away, running to hide behind the couch Soul was crashing on.

"Help me get away from him and I'll buy you all the Mountain Dews you want for the whole week," she whispered to him.

Soul smirked lazily, "You're going to have to offer something better than that, C."

"Fuck you, Soul," C hissed at him.

"Sorry, I don't do girls with no sex appeal like you," he smirk grew when she blushed furiously at his words. She was so easy to tease.

"Y-you know I don't mean it that way," she managed to stammer out.

"Either way you better start running again, I think he found you," Soul drawled out as Kid suddenly charged towards his direction.

"Eek! I give up Kid, I surrender. You can cut my hair-" C backed off with her hands held up flat.

Kid beamed, "I'm so glad we came to an agreement!"

"-only if you beat me if a game of Blackjack!" C finished.

"Fine, anyone got a pack of cards?" Kid's eye never left C, as if he expected her to bolt for it any moment.

Soul wordlessly fished out a pack from somewhere and plopped it into C's hands. She expertly shuffled the cards, her fingers blurring with speed, and placed the deck of cards in the middle of her and Kid. He reached for his two cards and then waited for C before taking a peek at them.

Soul looked over C's shoulder as she picked up a single card from them deck. He was momentarily confused: weren't you suppose to draw two cards?

C's poker face was immaculate as she looked at him for a long time then turning back to stare at her opponent, who was sweating profusely because of the card's asymmetrical design. Soul watched in surprise when her right arm gave a slight flick and she discreetly pulled out a ten and an ace from the sleeve of her shirt only to pocket her first card back in their folds. He quickly glanced about, but he was the only one able to witness this treacherously cool cheat. Damn, he never thought she would had the guts to do something like this. Cool.

Kid nervously opened his cards first to reveal a 7 of hearts and 9 of clubs. C triumphantly threw her cards to show everyone her 10 and ace. "I win, Kid. Hands off my hair," she said smugly. Kid looked silently down at her cards, then pounced on her without warning.

"Get off me Kid!" C screeched pummelling at Kid's back when he managed to tackle her down. "We had a deal! Leave my hair and bracelet alone!"

"No! It's asymmetrical! You could be so much beautiful! Why can't you see that?!" Kid's feverish eyes glinted dangerously. "You could be like Maka!"

The room stilled immediately and Kid seemed to come to his senses, looking down at C in shock as if realising what he just said. "C, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that. It slipped out of my mouth," Kid tried to take it back.

"Yeah, like the last time?" Liz narrowed her eyes at him, apparently still angry over his inconsiderate comment. Kid winced at her harsh tone.

C was the first to move, she shoved Kid off her, "I know I look a lot like her, Kid. But I'm me and Maka's Maka. Get that through your thick heads guys. Stop trying to make me into her." She hung her head low and let her loose hair cover her face. "You have to accept the fact that she's gone and move on."

"But hey, I've lost a lot of close ones as well," she lifted up the long sleeve of her right arm to show everyone the bracelet Kid had been so desperate to yank off a few seconds ago. Kid fainted on the spot at the sight of it.

It was made from two golden circlets, one below the wrist and one at the middle of her forearm. Different coloured jewels litter the space between them, held to each other by a net of gold. (Shown in the story cover) They shone brightly in vibrant shades saved for a few which looked dead and dull.

"What's that? It's so pwetty!" Patty scrambled.

"This," C brandished her arm forward proudly, "is something I made myself. The jewels all represent a person I've 'branded'. When the magic I've casted on them senses danger, I will know and I can protect them."

"So you kind of teleport over to them and kick butt or something?" Liz raised her eyebrows.

"Um… sort of. I can create portals or fly. You know the weird dreams I get almost every night?" they nodded their heads. "Yeah, they can be a pain in the ass sometimes and tell me things I never want to know about, but they have their uses. I got one of them of you guys years ago and had you branded before I even met you."

"Yahoo! How could something so puny in size hold all of my godliness?" Blackstar bounded into the room with Tsubaki. "Besides, why would your God ever need protection from you?"

"You'll be surprised how many times I saved your ass all these years," C said dryly.

"What?! I never saw you plus, we haven't even met then!" Blackstar yelled.

"Of course not, I made sure of that. You can't simply meddle with the future even if you can see it," C shook a mocking finger at him.

She pointed to a fluorescent blue jewel, "That's you Blackstar. The pinks ones are Liz and Patty, the orange one is Tsubaki, the onyx one is Kid, the red one is Soul, and that-" she fingered a dull green jewel, "is Maka."

"They turn like that if that person's dead?" Patty asked carefully.

"Yeah, this one's my mother," C showed them a dull jewel in a dark navy blue.

"What about you?" Soul asked with a nonchalant air. "Who's going to protect you if you're protecting everyone?"

"Aww, is that Soul being worried about someone?" Liz cooed out and pinched his cheek.

"Piss off, Liz!" he pretended to try to bite her fingers.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" C scooted closer to the sisters.

"She doesn't mean a thing by that," Soul snapped and dragged his substitute meister away from them. He was afraid that their upcoming interrogation was going to rubbed her the wrong way.

"Oh no you don't, sharky," Patty grinned a maniac smile, "C's and Tsubaki are staying with us now for a sleepover! They're meeting Mr Giraffe!"

"I am?" C said bewildered.

"Yes, she is. Now get out boys," Liz shoved them out of the door.

"You can't kick out your God! I choose to leave by myself!" Blackstar shouted and marched out with his head held high.

"Keep the house symmetrical, Liz and Patty! I'm checking when I come back!" Kid reminded them.

"So uncool to be kicked out by girls," Soul turned his nose in the air.

Liz huffed as she closed the door behind them, "Yes! Got rid of them at last! C'mon girls!" She dragged C and Tsubaki into a prepared room with four air mattresses and tons of pillows and sheets draped over the floor.

Tsubaki giggled, "You were planning this all along?" Patty winked at her mischievously while C shook her head in exasperation. There were even their names scrawled with crayons on paper plaques held up by stuff giraffes on every mattress. A purple stuffed giraffe held up her name scrawled in pink.

Liz tossed her some clothes out of her closet. "Go change into your PJ's then straight back in here. You too Tsubaki," she pointed out the nearest bathroom. C went along with what she was told to do, changing quickly and then flopping down on her mattress. The girls immediately pounced on her, pinning her down by her arms and legs.

"Uh guys…?" C asked nervously.

"So… what's up with you and Soul?" Tsubaki smiled cheekily with cheeks flushing, she wasn't use to these things. She experimentally gave C's stomach a small poke.

"Ah! Don't tickle me! I have no idea what you're talking about," C pleaded.

"Don't act innocent with us, C. Soul's much happier with you around, it's so obvious to us," Liz loomed over her with a dark aura.

"Yeah, you should had seen him before you came along, so sad and always moping about," Patty chimed in.

"Is there suppose to be something going on between me and Soul?" C asked blushing. "And aren't we suppose to be concentrating on the witch who's coming for Shibusen?"

"Nah, Kid's already told his dad. We're prepared," Liz waved off the poor attempt to change the subject. "So there's absolutely nothing between you and him?"

"Not that I know off," C shook her head.

"I don't believe you C. Soul has really perked up since that day Maka left us forever, he's hanging out with us more often and he smiles more too," Tsubaki admitted hesitantly.

"That's probably because he makes so much fun of me," C crossed her arms across her chest suddenly very self-conscious of her body. "Who cares if I'm not as developed in certain areas as other girls. No offence, bur why does he have to make such a big fuss about it?"

"I think that you're very pretty just the way you are C," Tsubaki complimented her sweetly and C turned her head to hide a modest blush.

"I can never be as beautiful or as patient as you Tsubaki," C smiled, "Blackstar better be treating you well. I don't know how anyone stands him."

"Dammit, you beat me to it," Liz muttered. "What about you and Blackstar, Tsubaki?"

"Oh, we get along just fine. Blackstar is really sweet, his intentions are good even if he does mess up sometimes… He just asked me out a few days ago," Tsubaki said as if it wasn't such a big deal but they could see the happy smile on her face.

"What?!" They screeched. "You tell us now?!"

"Kid's still too embarrassed to ask us out, sissy," Patty pouted in disappointment. "But we can always wait for him." She brightened up visibly at that while Liz muttered something about considering forgiving him for his snide comment.

The rest of night was passed away with gossip and snacks and naturally, more confessions about boys. Liz was chasing C around trying to get her to try out a few outfits that she claimed was 'the trend' now. But they were a little too revealing for C's comfort, who was glad enough to be able to evade her reaches.


End file.
